All the thrills and excitement of its console brothers, with surprisingly dependable controls. A lack of modes and almost useless multiplayer dampens the fun, though.

While it will keep you entertained for a period, Pastry Panic is a little too lightweight to become a classic.

An utterly unique if disappointingly shallow exploration-based shooter.

A solidly presented, smartly designed construction-based puzzler that's easy to recommend.

Score! Classic Goals is a fantastic idea, executed marvellously. Why did no one think of this sooner?

Violent and funny in most of the right places, Alive4ever Mini might just be another follower of the undead fashion, but it does what it sets out to do well enough that you can forgive the absence of new ideas in the game.

Proof that you can deliver a fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining racing experience on touchscreen with a bit of creative inspiration. It's definitely worth giving a fling.

The 3DS eShop scores another whopper, as Art of Balance Touch! is essential puzzle gaming.

An impressive game with a gorgeous world you'll want to explore, Air Mail is only let down by its lack of challenge.

Bold and unique, Gravity Rush is a strong PS Vita release that gets better and better the more you play it.

An attractively presented arcade climber that's seriously undermined by frustrating controls and unadventurous design.

Few games are able to worm their way into your imagination and subconscious as well as New Star Soccer. You'll suffer the highs and lows of its simply presented matches with the grin of a true addict plastered across your face.

An exquisitely ridiculous high score chaser, Extinction Squad is another brilliant, unique, and hilarious addition to the Adult Swim stable.

DevilDark: The Fallen Kingdom is a passable hack 'n' slash, RPG-esque romp that is worth the price if you're willing to put up with some heavy grinding and an imbalanced in-app purchase system.

A thoughtful and well-put-together puzzle game, Reiner Knizia's City of Secrets Pipes is an enjoyable, deep, time-consuming brainbender.

There simply isn't enough to do, especially for a 3DS game. Throw in poor dialogue and barely evident stereoscopic 3D effects, and Bird Mania 3D just isn't worth your time.

While a generation of gamers dreams of better days, Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II is an unpleasant reminder of how far the series has fallen since its glory days.

Putting accessibility over its heritage, Mario Tennis Open is likely to win over more newcomers than returning players.

A quirky, intriguing endless-floater that's simply far too shallow to captivate for long.

A brilliant little skating game, Penny Time is a hugely entertaining title that anyone can enjoy.

The fact that Shifting World's flaws are so easily fixable makes this release all the more frustrating.

A refreshing take on the iOS platformer, This Could Hurt doesn't revolutionise the genre, but it makes a good case for a button-free style of play.

While it is a lot of fun to begin with, Pinch Peeps loses its spark pretty quickly, and a serious lack of content only adds to its problems.

In an age where we're seeing a great deal of innovation and quirkiness in iOS releases, it's disappointing to see an old classic so lazily ported across to Apple's mobile platform.

Come for the extreme violence, stay for one of the best single-player experiences in the genre. Mortal Kombat is back and brilliant.

A beautifully polished, richly rewarding take on the tower defence genre.

An accessible, enjoyable online shooter that desperately needs more content to expand its appeal.

A clever twist on the undead craze, Brainsss focuses on grey matter in more ways than one, and just about manages to pull off its mix of stealth and strategy.

Fans of Advance Wars should have this extremely challenging game on their radar, for it's one they'll relish.

Packing in character from start to finish, MacGuffin's puzzle play ultimately doesn't entertain enough in its own right to enable the game to stand out from the crowd.

Cubis Creatures represents a memorable marriage of marvellous design and artful aesthetics.

Downhill Xtreme is fun, good looking, and doesn't require a penny to play.

Winter of the Melodias adds some fiendishly clever new ideas to LostWinds, without spoiling that sense of quiet discovery and childlike wonder.

While it's not without its merits, a clumsy control system and some badly thought-out levels mean Rocket Fox doesn't quite reach the heights it's aiming for.

Equal parts slick fun, frustrating controls, and jaw-dropping visuals, N.O.V.A. 3 is a prime example of what's good, and bad, about smartphone gaming.

A solid physics-puzzler with a limited lifespan and in need of some polish.

Think DIY Tetris sounds like an intriguing experience? You couldn't be any more wrong - or, at least, that's what Block Factory has taught us.

A brilliant revamp of the original that ups the ante for iOS brawlers, King of Fighters-i 2012 is only let down by its slightly laggy online bouts.

A more refined beast than its predecessor, Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 is a fitting end to the boy wizard's adventures.

Gorgeous graphics, easy to pick up gameplay, and a couple of flaws that are easy to look past mean that My Little Hero is definitely worth checking out.

Another creature firing also-ran, Cannon Cat isn't the worst example of the genre, but it won't keep you entertained for very long.

Cunningly fusing word play with finger-friendly action, AbraWordabra offers something that's a little different from the norm, and is well worth investigating.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention takes a while to learn, but once you've passed the entrance exam there's enough content to hold your attention far beyond the school holidays.

Business as usual for the Jewel Master series, though the move to Nintendo's latest portable frankly seems pointless, such is Cradle of Rome 2's similarity to the last.

An unexceptional endless racer that's competent enough for a few minutes busywork but far from the best the App Store has to offer.

Illusia 2 is a quirky and imperfect RPG that's worth far more than its free price tag.

If the thought of shooting innocent woodland animals in slo-mo through X-ray specs doesn't make you flinch from the game, the freemium costs probably will.

This arcade racer manages to mess up the basics of racing game design, while looking and sounding poor at the same time.

It's about a million miles away from being the Citizen Kane of iOS game but whatever the hell Clear Vision is, it's kind of okay by us.

A very average Korean RPG that isn't worth the button-bashing hassle.

Eliss gets everything right, except for the difficulty curve. If it's an extreme challenge with charm and polish you are after, look no further.

Ice Age Village isn't an awful build-'em-up, but it's severely marred by a lack of character and an absence of social features.

A jaunty, if all-too-familiar experience that's lacking polish where it's needed most.

Polymer is a brilliant, addictive puzzler, and its blend of logic and shape building make it a game almost anyone can enjoy.

A charming and well-constructed downhill racer, Ski Safari doesn't have the chops to stick in the memory for long, but it's an enjoyable blast while it lasts.

Pure Chess attempts to bring asynchronous play to a classic and fails, but the single-player is still worth the entry fee.

Tough in most of the right places, Spellsword might miss a few tricks, but it's core gameplay is solid enough to keep you playing regardless.

An intense dash to infinity that's entertainingly frenetic, if a little too flimsy to hang out with the big boys.

Saving Private Sheep 2 is a smart physics-puzzler in a familiar outfit.

While it has some impressive moments, Ballistic SE falls well short of reshaping the genre template it fits so snugly into.

Proof that originality doesn't always trump sheer design smarts. Your fingers will never know what hit them.

A splendidly stupid shooter, Lock 'n' Load successfully mixes cartoon violence and a pleasantly heavy shooting mechanic to great effect.

What Shark Dash may lack in originality, it makes up for with a of bathtub filled with cutesy physics-based fun.

A neat central idea, held together by some decent level design, Burger Cat is let down by some sloppy controls and a few bad decisions.

Clever, pretty platforming that's let down by repetition and slightly flaky controls.

A brilliantly put together puzzler with some intriguing new ideas, Ka-Bloom is a great game that sometimes gets lost underneath its own array of features.

A raucous and incredibly clever physics-based puzzler, Hambo is a brilliant example of iterative game design done right.

While there's nothing overtly wrong with it, Beeing is a fairly underwhelming addition to the seemingly endless list of cutesy casual games on iOS.

Bright and breezy presentation, and a few clever ideas, mean Amoebattle is worth a few hours of anyone's time.

A strange, if sadly under-developed twirl-'em-up that fails to exploit the potential at its intriguing core.

A strangely lovable if utterly shambolic mix of gorgeous visuals and tedious game mechanics.

Not quite bullet-hell heaven, Endless War can't match Cave's classics in terms of spectacle, and while its RPG elements are intriguing they're not enough to lever it above the pack.

Blast Ball's joyously kinetic gameplay and simple premise make it instantly gratifying, but the occasionally annoying controls and lack of depth count against it.

Got Cow? is a clever and bracingly difficult physics-puzzler that's been pipped to the post by a more famous rival.

As a trinket for retrophiles to coo over it's fine, but as a game Kale In Dinoland will just end up making your blood boil.

If you can see past StarDrone's awful Level Skipper DLC shenanigans, there's a decent little puzzler to spend an evening with.

An artsy, hypnotic little curiosity that's as slight as a summer's breeze.

Far from grand strategy or intricate planning, StickWars 3 is about flicking little men into the air and watching them flop down in glorious puddles of gore.

A great version of the now-ubiquitous game, this is definitely worth a bite, so long as you can stomach the price.

All of the ingredients for some destructive fun might be in place, but Burnout Crash! can't quite mix them together into an appetising meal.

A gorgeous Old West adventure, Gunman Clive might not be a gritty piece of revisionist realism, but it is an awful lot of fun.

Another crazed, retro blast from the mind of Jeff Minter, FiveADay is a little tricky to get to grips with, but once it clicks it's hilarious fun.

Its title suggests big changes to the formula that just aren't here, but Dynasty Warriors NEXT will appease series veterans who just want to have a copy of their favourite franchise anywhere they go.

Max Payne Mobile's repetitive gameplay and irksome controls definitely won't impress newcomers. But for gamers who enjoyed the original, this iOS edition is a strong enough port to bring back good memories.

iOOTP Baseball 2012 Edition is able to deliver the thrill of the game through mere text, though fans of the series might wonder why play hasn't been pushed on a touch.

A decent Bejeweled clone with horrifically expensive micro-transactions and long load times, the Vita's first freemium title is a misplaced first step into the brave new world of free games on portables.

A brilliantly put together little game, Skylanders: Cloud Patrol quickly becomes an addictive way to waste a few minutes, whether you care about the characters or not.

It's not quite up there with the best iOS has to offer, but Kung Fu Rabbit's still a fun, frisky little platformer with plenty of appeal.

A generous, beautifully presented turn-based RPG that's tremendously entertaining in sensible doses.

Epic Astro Story's lofty premise is backed up by some surprisingly complex and multifaceted gameplay. Pre-warn friends and family before downloading, as they will have precious little of your attention afterwards.

A game that typifies smartphone gaming at its best, 8bit Ninja is charming, addictive, and well worth your time and money.

While it certainly looks the part and controls well enough, Violet Storm's lack of variety - not to mention challenge - puts it at the back of the iOS shooter pack.

It doesn't reinvent the motorbike wheel, but Trial Xtreme 2 Winter Edition provides more petrol-fuelled hi-jinks for fans of previous games. We just can't shake the feeling that it would have worked better as a paid-for expansion to the existing Trial Xtreme 2 game.

Brilliantly presented, and with some great ideas about asynchronous multiplayer, Sky Gnomes doesn't quite have the gaming chops to back up all of its clever concepts.

Quick minds that are after a lengthy challenge of spatial conundrums will be well served with this value-for-money downloadable.

Once you've got into PathPix Joy's tightly focused, gently paced logic puzzling, good luck getting out.

A homage to '80s pop culture and a legitimately entertaining role-playing title to boot, Saturday Morning RPG is as unique as it is enjoyable.

First impressions count, and your first impression of Bug Princess 2 will probably be 'wow', closely followed by 'good lord', as you weave and blast through its glorious waves of hellish beasts.